Giveaway!

My Phi Lamb sister Katy is hosting an Erin Condren giveaway over at her blog... go check it out!

I know of a Christian who was in solitary confinement for years and experienced much hunger and pain. Sometimes he was aware of Jesus asking him, "Is it too difficult for you? Shall I ease your lot?" Again and again he replied, "Please, Jesus, see to others. I can bear it. I'm all right."

This is the bride's mentality. She tells Jesus to follow His calling as a king. She can carry the cross allotted to her in the hope that, when the evening comes, He will return to her. She is reluctant to make continual demands upon Him.

Excerpted from The Midnight Bride (pp. 154-155), by Richard Wumbrand

I have time...

I decided I should blog, but I don't feel inspired. I feel like anything I write will be mundane. There have been times I have wanted to write, but didn't have time. Thus the lack of writing! Oh well. Maybe you should read this at 9 pm to help you fall asleep, because it's now or [later than now] so this might be boring.

The past couple of weeks have been busy around here. Not necessarily time-busy, but emotionally busy. Josh searched for, found, & accepted a new job, quit his current job a couple of weeks ago, & is in the last couple of days before he's done. This has been stressful for him - quitting a job is never easy. & neither is the transition. But he is excited for his new opportunity & ready to get going. Fortunately, next week he will be in between jobs, so we get the whole week to hang out! That is a nice consolation prize, considering we don't get to take a vacation this fall now that he won't have the vacation time. (I'm pretty sad about that.) I wrote up a to-do list for the week, which includes important things like babyproofing the cabinets so Elliot can roam the house, & getting new internet & cell phone plans, & also equally-important-but-in-a-different-kind-of-way things such as "get a snow cone" & "go to the pool." It should be fun.

That's it for now, must enjoy some coffee before Elliot wakes up... I'll have more to share, but I won't say it'll be soon, because really, who knows. :)

Parenting 201

We have entered a new realm of parenting - discipline. Eek. Elliot is now crawling all over the place, pulling up, reaching for everything, & even exhibiting a bit of the "human sin nature." Oh boy. Now, if you don't think disciplining an 8 month old is appropriate, stop reading now. Josh & I believe that babies are smarter than they seem, & we want to teach him what is okay & what is not. We believe he has reached the stage where it is time to create boundaries. The problem is, how do I decide what those boundaries are?

You see, I am the type of person that lines up the kitchen table with the floor tiles. It's got to be straight. So, when my baby heads for my photo albums, do I get over it & force myself to think photos warped by drool is adorable? Or do I attempt to keep him away from everything that is not sold in the baby aisle of Target? You see my quandary.

It's hard to think about disciplining him. Who wants their child to get upset? I can see how parents end up letting their kids have or do whatever they want. But I also see what kind of kid that produces, & I don't want one of those!

God is SO teaching me right now to look to Him in EVERY moment. Stop - get my heart in the right place - pray & ask for wisdom/patience/peace - & let Him do it. Be obedient. What a process. It seems He is bound & determined to change me. How about that? Well, I might as well go with it. He really does have my best in mind, & Elliot's best. He is good. I really can rest in that!

Living radically

If you haven't read the book "Radical" by David Platt, I recommend you do so. Even more, I recommend you read it with your spouse. Josh & I are both reading it, & are only about halfway through, but it has caused many conversations between us. Reading it is much more impactful than my summary could ever be, so I won't even try. But here are some of the ways we are being challenged.

We have always been pretty frugal people (some may say "cheap"). But now we are considering - okay, when we choose not to spend our money on something, then what do we do with it? Are we frugal so that we can save save save? Or do we realize what eternal purpose that money could serve?

Now, the basis behind ANY question we ask is motive. Saving in itself isn't bad. Buying a house or a car or going out to eat aren't in themselves bad things. But when we save, is it because we are putting our security in our finances? We need a "safety net?" Is it taking away from our trust in the Lord, that He provides for all of our needs? Maybe. When we buy something, is it because the Lord is leading us to do so? Or because we want the new thing, the bigger thing?

We have, until now, thought that we would need to buy a new car soon - a new (used) SUV for me to truck our kids around in. I drive a small car & Josh drives an SUV with almost 150,000 miles on it. But what about me driving Josh's car until it dies? Well, I tell ya, I get much more excited about the thought of a newer car. But why?? I'm not saying we won't eventually buy a car. But we want our hearts to be in the right place. We want to be willing to sacrifice. We desire to live simply. We don't want our money to go toward "earthly trinkets," but "eternal treasures."

When we save money by not buying something, we are now challenged to consider where we might give it. We have always given money to our church & to other organizations. But maybe we should go above & beyond. Do we give out of excess, or are we sacrificing? God already gave us somewhere to give some money, & put it on Josh's heart for us to do so. I gladly submit to a husband who desires to give to something that will have eternal benefit!

I am also being challenged to consider my purpose. God wants to use us to make disciples; to change the world. Yes, being a wife & a mom is a huge calling that the Lord has placed on my life. But I know that's not all He has for me. & I want to be used where He wants to use me.

It may sound huge & lofty, all good & well, or it might sound crazy or legalistic. (Sidenote: One other thing I am trying to do right now is to make sure I'm not making "rules" for myself. As a rule follower, that is so easy for me. But I want there to be reason behind the things that I do.) Read the book! Platt's heart behind every word is that we might do what GOD wants. Die to ourselves that He might live through us. I am excited to see how the Lord is moving in our lives. He has GOOD things for us, & I want to be a part of it!!

Follow the rabbit trail.

So, one day after Elliot started crawling, he started pulling himself up to standing. Whaat? He is getting so big! It's so cute to walk into his room after his nap & he is sitting up in his crib waiting for me. We are going to buy him a convertible car seat this weekend. Unfortunately he is not a big fan of being in his infant seat longer than about 45 minutes, which makes 5 hour drives really, really long. So we're hoping the next step up will be more comfortable for him. Or I may need to invest in sedatives. For him or for me? I guess you'll never know! (Just kidding. Kind of.)

Last night I went to bed at 8:15. It was awesome.

Tomorrow is National Donut Day. Free donuts at Krispy Kreme & Dunkin Donuts. You're welcome.

Speaking of sugar, is there really anything better than a Double Stuf Oreo? Oh, oreo ice cream & oreo dirt pudding & oreo cake balls... good point.

We are excited for the Winnie the Pooh movie coming out soon. Elliot has two Pooh Bear stuffed animals, & a super soft Pooh diaper that says "Small Pieces of Fluff." It's so cute. I told Josh he is the Tigger to my Eeyore.

I love going through closets & drawers & getting rid of things. Throwing away, giving away, selling; doesn't matter. I love simplifying. Josh came home in a simplify mood so we cleared out our bookshelves & he cleaned his closet & some drawers in the bathroom. It's kind of like our house loses weight every time we get rid of things. It's great.

Here are a couple quotes at my desk that I like:
"The circumstances of life, the events, of life, & the people around me in life, do not make me the way I am, but reveal the way I am." Dr. Sam Peeples

"You are never more valuable to God than you were the day you were born." (I don't know who said that one, but it's good for the performance-driven types like me.)

It's 9 pm. Way past my bedtime!!

Crawling & marriage

I tell ya, if I didn't have things to do with my time, I'd have an awesome blog. But for the next 25ish years, this is what you are stuck with. :-)

Well, it looks like we have a crawler on our hands! After a couple days of being very frustrated over getting up on all fours but not being able to move, he figured it out & is shimmying his way across the living room. Usually toward me. Moving any previously folded laundry out of the way to get there. I tell ya (there I go, tellin' ya again), I am definitely learning how to let go of things, like always having everything neatly picked up. I do however have a nice looking living room after Elliot's bedtime! I refuse to become sloppy, but I will try not to be anal.

Yesterday was Josh & I's four year anniversary. Three years ago we were in Dallas, two years ago we were in Florence, Italy (gosh, like we'll ever be able to top that), & last year we found out Elliot was a boy, so this year was definitely low-key in comparison, but being able to go out to dinner babyless was a much needed treat!! Uncle Tyler & Aunt Kelsy watched Elliot while we went out to a delicious dinner (escargots, crab cake, bacon mac n cheese with steak, truffle lobster risotto, s'mores chocolate tart & tiramisu.... I'm drooling at the memory).

Lately I have become a little more aware that I am really, really blessed by my husband. It has surprised me to see several couples our age already divorced. I don't pretend to know or understand their circumstances, but for me, I can't imagine my life without Josh. I even have dreams where we're not married, but I know that we are supposed to be, or where another guy is pursuing me & I'm like... where's Josh??? I know people say it a lot, but he TRULY is my best friend, the person who I confide in & who I have the most fun with. Even if you stripped away every bit of romantic feelings, that would remain, as it was the foundation of our relationship for several years before romance even entered the picture. & I am so thankful for him & our relationship. I don't mean for it to say that I somehow got lucky to find that special person, or something... marriage takes a lot of work & a lot of learning to die to yourself. You can't be selfish & have a good marriage, & even if our marriage wasn't great, it is still a commitment we made before God that represents Christ & His relationship with His church, & we take that very seriously. We obviously have to work at it. But, he is wonderful. & he puts up with me. For that I am thankful!